Well, This Is Embarrassing.
Despite my best efforts to stay current, I got so focused on catching up on the decade that I never actually got to 2019. Thus, my 2019 list has no 2019 records on it! Nutboy would be mortified.
It’s people like Nutboy - by focusing on the here and the now and yet somehow absorbing the latest 30-CD Bob Dylan Bootleg release - who keep me humble. I’m waiting for your 2019 list NB!
I was tempted to check out the 2019 records that appeared on the many decade lists I perused, but I didn’t trust the rankings. The value of decade lists is that they give people years to process what they heard. But you only get a few months for the 2019 records. Hence there’s a temptation to overrate what you happen to like at that moment.
Resolutions:
So, I will - again - resolve to get 2020 music during actual 2020. And, I guess, catch up on, um, 2019. A new decade and I’m already behind the f*cking 8-ball. Or in my case maybe the 7-ball.
Aside from that, I won’t bore you yet again with my pathetic attempts at personal resolutions. They’re going about as well as you’d expect.
But as far as music goes, I’ve made some adjustments. I had previously resolved to get more mp3s. I’m now hearing that the sound quality of CDs (and vinyl) is better. (Any advice on this would be appreciated.) So I may go back to CDs. We’ll just have to add an extension to the house.
Oh, I’ve been (re)learning guitar, and have resolved to practice “more”, whatever that means.
Awards:
Most Work (But Worth it): Arca
Most Work (And Possibly Not Worth It): tUnE yArDs
Most Surprising: Lykki Li
Most Disappointing: tUnE yArDs
Best Artist: Nobody, but that's okay.
Best Books:
This was not a great year for finishing books, but for those that I did, here are my favorites.
Any Old Way You Choose It by Robert Christgau
Just so much fun to read a person's first-hand reaction to events and music from decades ago. A
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Very entertaining and I learned a lot. But I couldn't have the latter without the former. A-
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Jane’s always reliable for a good yarn. A-
Susan Sontag: The Complete Rolling Stone Interview, Cott, Jonathan
I enjoyed Sontag’s answers a lot more than Cott’s questions. A-
Oh, Yeah. Music:
I didn’t hear anything that absolutely floored me, but all of the below rewarded repeated listening.
Last year, of my top ten, five were either lead or co-led by a woman. This year makes that year look like a case of testosterone poisoning.
There was also a struggle between fun and seriousness. In a pinch, the former won.
In terms of quality 1-4 are very close, as are 5-6 and 7-9 and - of course - 10.
- Snail Mail: Lush (2018) Compared to the ladies below, she’s a bit of a sad sack, but she wants what’s best for you.
- Alvvays: Anti-Socialites (2017) She’s pretty level headed about love. And outright serious about catchiness.
- Best Coast: Crazy for You (2010) Not only do the songs sound similar, but their themes are also similar. She loves him, he drives her crazy. What might drive you crazy in a friend can be very entertaining in an artist.
- Janelle Monae: Dirty Computer (2018) Yes, Prince is dead, but she is filling the hole pretty nicely so far.
- Leonard Cohen: You Want it Darker (2018) He may have been a young hedonist but he worked and worked and worked until the very end.
- Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour (2018) The songs are not all uniformly great, but that voice!
- Soccer Mommy: Clean (2018) Sometimes irritatingly weird but I keep listening to it.
- Pusha T: Daytona (2018) Grim realities right in your face. Compelling.
- Noname: Room 25 (2018) This flows beautifully from beginning to end.
- And tied for 10th: Arca: Arca (2017), Lykki Li: Wounded Rhymes (2011), Father John Misty: I Love You Honeybear (2010), Tom Waits: Bad As Me (2011), Bon Iver: Bon Iver (2011)
Some of the best songs I heard this year can be found here.
Here's to the New Year!
Are we in a war yet?
